Greece seems to have overwhelmingly rejected the terms of a bailout offer from international creditors, supporting the position of premier Alexis Tsipras, who for the second time in five months has managed to secure a stunning victory at the ballot box, on the promise of a better future and a break from the past.
With around 72% of the ballots counted, ‘No’ is ahead with more than 61 percent of the votes, compared to less than 39 percent for the ‘Yes’ vote.
While the full results are yet to be announced, supporters of the ‘No’ campaign have already started to celebrate on Athens’ Syntagma square.
How Europe and the IMF will respond to the referendum’s results is unclear. But one thing is sure, the ‘no’ vote has rattled the creditors and EU leaders, who had been urging a ‘Yes’ vote. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will travel to Paris on Monday to discuss the implications of the Greek referendum with French President Francois Hollande.
The ECB will also meet to discuss the crisis.
Earlier in the day, Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis told CNBC that Greece would be able to reach a deal with its creditors within 24 hours if the ‘no’ side were to win.
Greece desperately needs more money to reopen its banks, which have been shut for a week.
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